Billionaire Bachelors 10 ; Holiday Treasure(61)

That hurt, he had to admit. He knew things were bad when he was getting pitying looks from elderly women.

Finally, just when he thought he was going to have to pitch a tent outside Kyla's door, he heard her undoing the locks and sliding the chain away. Then she was standing before him, looking even more beautiful than ever, with her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a tight red sweater and a pair of fitted jeans that showed off the perfect flare of her hips.

Tears were shining in her eyes as she gazed into his. He could see myriad emotions crossing her features, as if she were hoping he spoke the truth, but didn't trust herself to be a good judge of his character.

"I'm such a fool, Kyla. But I'm a man who will only make a mistake once before I've learned my lesson. I know we haven't had a lot of time together, and I know it all seems like it moved too fast, but since I've been away from you, you're all I think about. I can't concentrate on work; I can hardly sleep, or eat. I'm just surviving, not living. I need you as a part of my life - a permanent part of my life. I won't terrify you by asking you to be my wife … at least not today … but I am asking for a chance, a real chance for us to know each other. I love you, Kyla. I've never before said that to a woman."

"Oh, Tanner, I … I don't know. My first instinct is to throw my arms around you and say yes, but this is too fast. We don't know each other. We spent less than a month together and … " She dropped her voice briefly to a whisper. "We made love only twice. I want to believe this is real, but things like this don't happen to somebody like me. You're a man who has the world in the palm of his hand. I'm just a lost girl, someone who's pretty much alone in this world, and I have nothing to bring to the relationship," she said, hugging herself tightly.

"How can you say that? You are everything, Kyla. You're strong and beautiful, funny and caring. You have a heart of gold. Though you've been dealt some difficult cards in life, that doesn't define who you are; it only shows how much strength you actually have. I fell in love with you because of your strength and your goodness and … everything about you. Please let me prove to you how much." He reached out and gently pried her arms away from her body so he could take her hands into his.

"I … I stopped believing in love when I lost my family," she said, the pain so clear in her eyes that he felt it to his very soul.




 

 

"Then let me show you how to love again."

She allowed him to fold her into his arms, and she rested her head against his chest and sobbed. A flood of emotions she'd been holding in for so long broke free, and he was strong enough to carry her through.

"Please just let me love you, Kyla. I promise to cherish you, promise to help you carry the burden you've been carrying alone for too long."

"I love you too, Tanner. I don't know when or how, but I've missed you, missed your smile and your jokes, missed the way I felt when I was with you. The pain faded, hid away for a while when I was with you. I think I felt guilty about that, felt as if it were wrong for me to keep living my life, to be happy when the rest of my family couldn't be here to experience such wonderful emotions. I know now that's not what they would want. I know they'd want me to be happy."

"Yes, they would," he said, and leaned down and captured her lips.

As he kissed her, his heart flooding with love, he suddenly noticed the clapping. Lifting his head, he looked around and saw the hall filled with people who had just witnessed his groveling. But he didn't even care. The old Tanner would have, but he was a new man. Hadn't he said that much to the world?

"Congratulations, sonny," the nosy neighbor said, then went back into her apartment now that the show was over.

The construction workers didn't move.

"Get back to work," Tanner told them, trying to sound stern, but not able to pull it off, since he couldn't get the goofy grin from his face.

"Let's have some privacy," Kyla said, pulling away and holding out her hand for him to take.

She didn't have to tell him twice.

The two entered her apartment, and he couldn't believe how nervous he was. He couldn't mess this up now that she'd finally let him in.

"I don't want you to think this is about sex, but I want you so badly," he said, unable to quit running his hands up and down her back.

"It's definitely about sex. I want you too, Tanner," she admitted, then pressed up against him and kissed him with a hunger that could only match his.

Lifting her up into his arms, he carried her to her room and stood her in front of her bed, slowly taking off each piece of her clothing, his fingers shaking as he bared her body to his enraptured eyes. After laying her gently on the covers, he yanked off his own clothes without taking his eyes from her.